Can you include council tax in a Debt Management Plan?

Current council tax arrears and payments cannot be included in a Debt Management Plan, however if you have council tax arrears from a previous year or a previous address, then these could be included in a Debt Management Plan.

If you’re thinking about starting a Debt Management Plan and have council tax debt, rest assured that we will take into account all your priority bills like mortgage / rent, utilities and council tax (plus arrears) into consideration when drawing up a repayment Plan.

This means we will work with you to make sure you have enough money to pay for these types of bills before you make any repayments into the Debt Management Plan.

Dealing with tax arrears

If you’ve fallen behind with council tax, it is important that you contact your local authority as soon as possible to create an affordable repayment plan. If you continue to ignore the problem, your local council could take you to court to recoup the money.

If you cannot afford to repay the arrears and genuinely have no way of repaying the debt – even after a repayment budget has been drawn up with your council – you could contact your local councillor or Citizens Advice Bureau for support when dealing with the matter.

If you feel like you need to take the issue further, you could contact the Local Government Ombudsman.

Reduce your council tax bill

There are four ways in which you can reduce council tax payments these are:

Disability reduction: If your home has been adapted for a physically or mentally disabled person (including children), you could qualify. Contact your local authority to find out if you qualify.

Single person discount: If you live alone, you can apply for a 25% reduction in your council tax.

Transitional reduction scheme: If you live in an area that is undergoing local government re-organisation, contact your council to see if you qualify.

Council tax benefit: If you are on a low income, you could qualify for council tax benefit where your council will pay all or part of your bill.

If you are interested in consolidating debt repayments into a lower monthly fee, speak to us to find out if you qualify for a Debt Management Plan.